Be Authentic…Do What’s Right…Simplicity…Mobility Services…New Usages…

Sustainable Mobility to address pending environmental, economical and social issues…

There is a new generation of car users, people who feel responsible for their environment. Citizens of all social categories, who strive for the right measures to be taken.

If this means something to you and your passionate about being part of the solution then the eCar Design Challenge is where you can express yourself!

Dassault Systèmes, in collaboration with 40 Fires, is hosting this international design challenge for professionals, students and design enthusiasts.

The car will transport 2 passengers and their luggage with ease. It will have a carbon fibre monocoque. The vehicle will be powered by H2 fuel cell technology, driven by 4 hub motors, one in each wheel. This innovative technology will allow a completely new design layout and therefore a fresh approach to the architecture of the vehicle. For recycling reasons the car body will be finished in raw carbon. New usages & services need to be invented together with a holistic company-philosophy that will seriously address the pending environmental, economical and social issues. Aerodynamics will play a key role in the vehicle design and therefore the car’s frontal footprint must be taken into account.  The vehicle should be aesthetically advanced without being shocking.

Awards: The winning designer will come with DS to the Frankfurt Auto Show in September and present to professionals and the public

The Jury:

• Anne Asensio who leads the Design Studio at Dassault Systèmes
• Christopher Reitz the head designer at Riversimple
• Guest star to be announced…

3 phases:

• Sketch It (13th June to 17th July) – post your 2D sketches (3 exterior views + 2 interior views)
• Model It (18th July to 28th August) – the 5 finalists chosen by the community and the jury will be supported by DS to model their designs in 3D
• Experience It (29th August to 9th September) – the winning design will be integrated into a 3D virtual experience illustrating the new usages and services

Registration and submission details can be found on the eCar Design Challenge community, just follow the video below to logon and get access:

Good luck and have fun!

Yours sustainably,

Jonathan

The first time I heard the term “N&V” it confused me a little, mostly because it’s an acronym, but partially because it’s related to cars and vehicles. “What’s this ‘N&V’ got to do with cars?” I wondered.

It turns out that Automotive OEMs spend a lot of time thinking about what noises their cars will make and how that affects your experience! And it’s true that I hate it if a car has an annoying rattle or squeak! But I never really understood what that meant in terms of car design.

Recently one of my colleagues showed me a presentation that so beautifully illustrated what Noise and Vibration is all about, that I thought I should share it with you:

You’ll also notice that this video not only explains very clearly why Noise and Vibration is important to car manufacturers , but it also explains what an amazing job our R&D team has done to improve the way we realistically simulate N&V for vehicles.

In fact, they have done such a good job, that we’re showing them and our technology off, at the SAE Noise and Vibration conference this May, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

For more information about the SAE event: http://www.sae.org/events/nvc/

Hopefully, we’ll see you there!

Cheers,

Tom

Safety first. You hear it quite often because it’s on people’s minds. It’s also important for car manufacturers, and many brag about their vehicles’ safety in television ads. So like many others, when I went shopping for a car recently, safety was at the top of my list. But how do I judge how safe a car is?

I asked my local mechanically-inclined friends. Several criteria actually make a car safe, but I found out that the metal structure of a car is hugely important.

Take spot welds, for example. Sheet metal parts are often bonded together by applying pressure and high electrical currents at specific points called spot welds. This makes the joined parts stronger, safer, and more uniform in appearance.

Spot welds not only make a vehicle safer, but can also help in reducing rattles and road noises. I learned that spot welds are used throughout a vehicle – up to 5,000 spot welds in one car! Who knew?

That sounded pretty safe to me and looking for a vehicle with this amount of spot welding definitely impressed me. Since they are done early in the vehicle production, I had to trust that they were there. I found out that a good spot weld can’t easily been seen in the finished vehicle.

Feeling pretty confident in my new knowledge of spot welds and car safety, I pressed on with my purchasing research.

Okay, so 5,000 spot welds are good, but does it matter how the welds get there? Apparently it does.

Industrial robots are typically used to spot weld sheet metal parts together. The “old way” of programming spot welding robots is by hand on the factory floor, which interrupts automobile production.

The “new way” is to ensure the welding is accurate by programming the robots offline on a personal computer, all without stopping the production line. This reduces manufacturing costs, which keeps car prices down.

All of that means to me: a safer car without the high price. This was definitely worth the research.

Feel like taking a glance at how it works? Watch the video!  It shows our digital spot welding in action.

Well, if you want to know the truth, safety was number two on my list of “must haves” in a car… The color red was first.

What’s at the top of your list?

Best,

Therese